Life after Madrid

 After a few days of rest I was ready to attack several projects my husband and I are working on.  The two biggest projects are organizing the remodel of the bedroom portion of our home - still untouched from the original construction and our upcoming "Around the World Trip".  

Michael got home from Ghana 4 days after I returned from Madrid.  The next day he tested positive for covid.  He immediately called our doc for a prescription for paxlovid.  I wasn't feeling so well either - felt like I was coming down with a cold.  Last time Michael got covid - in June of 2022.  I was in the same house with him and never got it.

Would my luck hold out this time?  It seemed so.  I took three covid tests over the next week and a half.  All were negative.  But I kept feeling worse and worse.  On Tuesday Feb 13, I woke up with every bone in my face aching.  My head was screaming at me.  I took one more covid test.  It was positive!  So I can no longer say I have never tested positive to covid!  I am now on paxlovid which leaves a really awful taste in my mouth!

While all that is going on - the front door suddenly will not open from the inside.  Still - you can open the front door from the outside just fine.  Anyone can get in - we just can't get out.  This happened before I tested positive for covid.  So I had called a locksmith and had found out that he did not have anything that would match our current handle and lever.  I would go to Lowes the next day to pick up a new set and the locksmith would come over in the late afternoon to install it.  Then Tuesday came - and I canceled it all.  

     

You can get in from the outside -  but you can't get outside from inside the house!

Since I now can't go to the store I look on-line for a replacement front door handle.  I look at the Kwikset website and can't find the same lever as we have.  I contact them to see what I should replace it with.  They come back with the answer that since the door handle I have has a lifetime warrantee - they will send me a new lever.  I wish all companies were that responsive in honoring their warrentees!

Fast forward to Thursday.  Around 11am the electricity in our house goes off.  I report it and discover that it also effects many of my neighbors.  The reason for the outage - "Investigating" - which remains the explanation throughout the outage.  Michael has a 1pm apt.  He has to go outside to unlock the garage with a key and manually open the door.  He returns an hour later and again has to manually open the garage as the electricity is still off.  

Michael pulls his car into the garage and manually closes the door.  Suddenly there are strange noises.  He looks up -  the bar to the garage door opener is strangely askew.  The blocks of wood in the wall above the garage door, which anchor the bar to the wall are sticking out of the wall by 2-3 inches!  Michael manages to straighten the bar - thus pushing the blocks of wood slightly back in position.

     

So now we can't get out of our house by the front door or through the garage.  We are not going anywhere!  We are both feeling unnerved and discombobulated by all these strange coincidences!

Luckily, a garage door technician can come to fix it on Friday afternoon.  Does this mean that we will avoid the pre-trip causalities in late March?  Just to explain, a day or two before almost every major trip we have taken in many years - something very problematic has happened.  Once a leak started in the upstairs ceiling the day before we were to leave.  A phone or computer suddenly stops working and new ones must be purchased the day before.  Once a light fixture in the garage (hanging over the cars!) fell just as we were waiting for an uber to take us to the airport.  The last trip - a light fixture in the kitchen suddenly fell out and dangled down about a foot the day before leaving.  

Here is to a stress free day or two before we head off on our next trip!

The last Madrid post - an Ode to a Niece-Companion

 I have mentioned Renee Michelle or RM frequently in my posts.  She was the one who suggestion she would serve as my niece-companion while I  visited Madrid by myself.  I can't thank her enough for making my visit there so pleasant.  

Since moving from the U.S. to Madrid last summer, she has had time to take many Spanish lessons and figured out the transportation here.  Having someone to translate the language made everything move smoother.  Yes, I could have figured a lot of things like menu's and grocery store items out myself.  I do have google translate, but it would have taken a lot longer. 

Being handed a prepaid metro card and her already having the Capify app on her phone already connected to her bank account, meant I didn't have to figure it all out.  And as her Spanish is well on its way, she could be sure she had put in the right address on her Spanish app.  

But of course, the most important role she played was as my companion.  Someone to talk to and share experiences with.  So if you ever have a chance to travel with a niece-companion - take it!  Or perhaps it is a nephew-companion, or a cousin-companion or even a friend-companion, it doesn't matter - it just makes things more fun!

Plaza De Espana and Temple de Debod

 It's my last full day in Madrid.  I had read that Plaza de Espana was very photogenic and the Temple de Debod was nearby.  I urged RM to be sure to have a book and/or a crossword puzzle on her phone as I wanted to spend the day taking photos.  After our taxi dropped us off at the plaza, RM found a comfy spot on a wooden bench and I walked around the large plaza taking photos.

There were a lot of interesting buildings facing the plaza - and a lot of traffic in the streets between.

In the center of the plaza is this monument dedicated to Miguel de Cervantes.  He is considered one of the greatest writers from Spain.

Proof that Madrid does not get as cold as Albuquerque!  It can feel very cold and wet here, but some roses were in bloom.

On the other side of the monument is this statue of Don Quixote - It makes sense - as Miguel de Cervantes was the author of this story.

On the other side of the plaza is more walking areas with more beautiful buildings.

Off to the side of the building above is another large open area for walking.  Placed strategically on one side was this very yellow transformer like object.  I sat on a bench a distance away and watched as curious people tried to figure out what it was.

It never moved - but seemed like it should have been controlled by someone remotely.  There is even a pail to collect donations in front.  Maybe the owner was off to lunch!

Further on was this building in a park-like setting.

After I had my fill of buildings, monuments and reflections, RM and I walked on to see the Temple Debod.

This is an Egyptian temple dating from the 2nd century BC.  In 1960, UNESCO put out a call for help when it and many other ancient temples were in danger of flooding when the Aswan Dam was constructed.  Several countries who funded and helped with their removal were rewarded with one of the temples that they could erect in their own countries.  Spain was one of those countries.  Before 2018 there was water in the fountain build all around the middle section.  Spain has not repaired the fountain and has agreed to cover the temple to protect it from the elements.  So far that has not happened.

A view through the two gates leading up to the temple.

Behind the temple is a viewing area over looking the city.  As you can see it was very hazy.

On one side was this view showing the back of the palace and cathedral that I visited earlier.

A closeup of the Cathedral.

                                                 

After all the walking, we took a taxi about ten minutes away to taste a treat I have been wanting to try the whole time.  There are a lot of these shops/restaurants scattered around Madrid.  A lot of times they are very small popup type locations.  RM opted to take me to one of many Cafe Chocolateria Valors.

They serve many chocolate sweets, but the most popular is hot chocolate and churros.  The drink is so thick that you literally eat it with a spoon.  It is not too sweet and goes very well with the doughnut like churros.  And, yes, we ate all of the churros.  I didn't have dinner that night.

I read some reviews of these cafe's.  Several comments mentioned how good the food was - but perhaps the servers could smile a little more!  I have enjoyed many a chocolate bar made by valor.  They can be found in any grocery store in Spain and are delicious!